


Clone Club Birthday Party

by Opium_du_Peuple



Category: Orphan Black (TV)
Genre: Birthday Party, Domestic Clone Club, Feel-good, Felix being Felix, Humour
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-24
Updated: 2015-01-24
Packaged: 2018-03-08 21:48:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3224657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Opium_du_Peuple/pseuds/Opium_du_Peuple
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I want a birthday party." Cosima once declared, out of the blue. <br/>Cosima doesn't know if she'll be alive for her 30th birthday and demands a birthday party for all the members of clone club. Feel-good happy fic in which the clone club doesn't have to worry about anything except the wrapping paper mess</p>
            </blockquote>





	Clone Club Birthday Party

**Author's Note:**

> This was written as part of a drabble challenge with ijustwantedyoutoneedme (check her tumblr out if you're a big TWD fan) with the prompt "birthday"!   
> Kudo and comment away if you like it, reviews are always super rad :3

"I want a birthday party." Cosima once declared, out of the blue. 

All the clone club members present in Felix's apartment raised their heads and turned towards the sofa, on which she was comfortably reclined, wrapped in a blanket. Her state had not worsened in the past months, the DYAD experiments having managed to buy her some time, but the fatigue, nausea and coughing were still a bitter part of their reality. Losing her balance or oversleeping was always source of worry for those around her, as if she was a ticking time bomb waiting to blow at any given second. 

Felix's head bobbed up from his easel as he was trying to finish a painting of Kira. Sat on the bed, the child was completing a puzzle with the help of Helena – or rather had been - before Cosima's announcement. 

"Of course," Sarah agreed, resting her hand on what she guessed was Cosima's knee through the blanket. "Whatever you want. Your birthday is in a couple weeks anyway." 

"No, I mean, not just for me. You and Helena were born just a week apart from me, and Alison a short month later. We should all celebrate. Together." 

No one dared to say it out loud but all of them had the same thing in mind : this could be Cosima's last birthday. Who knew what tomorrow would be made of and if no cure were to be found, she wouldn't make it to 30. Sarah nodded in silence, a faint smile on her lips. 

"Ne'er had a b'day b'fo'" Helena interjected, mindlessly gnawing on a piece of puzzle that had yet to find a place in the mix. Delicately, Kira stretched her arm under her aunt's mouth and the latter let the piece of cardboard land in her hand. "Did not have a date of birth to celebrate." she added. 

"Perfect!" Cosima said, delighted. "Birthday party on the 9th then! Clone club only!... And Felix too, of course," she added at the sight of Felix's mouth gaping with indignation. 

"I'm the heart and soul of clone club, mind you" Felix said, returning to his painting. 

"I want a clown." Helena solemnly declared. 

"You are NOT getting a clown." Felix scolded, pointing a menacing paint brush at her which squirted droplets of paint all over the floor.

***

Naturally, Alison had taken the whole organization in her own hands. From the drinking cups to the cake, the confetti and playlist, everything had passed her good-suburban-taste-test. Felix had offered to buy the cake himself - claiming that he knew a fantastic sexshop/bakery selling phallic-shaped pastries – but Alison had forbidden it.

"How will you explain to Kira that she's eating something shaped like a penis?!" 

"Relaaax, I'll just tell her it's a two-headed giant squid or whatever." 

She had baked the cake herself instead. Better safe than sorry, after all. 

The party was to start at noon at Felix's place. The rules were simple : each clone had to bring a gift for another one. Kira had managed the lottery, holding her mother's beanie, full of little papers, around the apartment. Each sister had drawn a name from the hat and kept it for herself.   
If Felix's place always had been eccentric and colorful, it was nothing in comparison to what Alison had done with it. Bright Chinese lanterns were hanging from the ceiling, assorted paper chains had been laid all over the furniture and confetti spread pretty much everywhere. "Jesus, a unicorn shat in my flat," as Felix had described it. 

Helena and himself were the only ones to be there yet. Mainly because one hardly left the flat at all and the other literally owned the place. Helena had put on her best dress – which was to say one she had stolen in Beth's wardrobe. Sat on the floor, she was digging into the cake, eating handfuls of frosting and sponge. Judging for afar, Felix took another sip of his drink. 

"Sestra Alison's going to lose her shit if you keep gulping down her masterpiece." 

Helena didn't seem to mind as she plunged her fingers into the cake once more. 

"It's compliment." she simply said, as if it was the most logical thing in the world. 

To be fair, Felix was rather concerned by the state of his rug than the cake itself. He wasn't one for cleanliness and order, but the prospect of cleaning up the mess didn't exactly delight him. 

Alison was soon to slide the door open, her arms full of bags and additional decorations. More nervous than usual, she made her way through the apartment, listing the contents of the bags and other tasks she had undertaken on her way here. Her spiel stopped dead when she spotted the cake mayhem on the rug and Helena's mouth covered in frosting. Alison nearly dropped her load on the floor. 

"HELENA!" 

The latter's response was a mere innocent smile as she thoroughly licked her fingers clean. Seeing the soccer mom about to burst into a melodramatic rant, Felix hopped in her direction and put his hands on her shoulders to guide the desperate ball of stress out of Helena's way. Better that than having one breaking the other's arm. 

"Deep breaths, deep breaths," he prescribed, taking her to the kitchen area. 

"It's a disaster! How are we going to get a cake now? WHERE are we going to get a cake now?! You live in a...a... a not decent-bakery-worthy area!" she cried. 

Felix started to take deep breaths himself to encourage Alison to do likewise. She followed the rhythm, her eyes casting anxious glances nonetheless. She hated disorganization, although she sort of had to get used to it, given the messy clone club business. Felix gently stroked her shoulders to calm her down. A mental breakdown was not on the agenda, not today. 

"I'll call Sarah, she'll pick something up on her way here, don't worry. Don't let your wrinkles get worse." 

"My wrinkles? I don't have any." 

"Sweetie you're a mother of two and you have a body buried in your garage. You do have winkles."

***

Cosima was next, holding little Kira by one hand and carrying her gift with the other. Her walk had become slower and more careful over months of sickness, always ready to be in pain or throw up. As soon as they passed the door, Alison jumped from her sit to greet them and support Cosima by her shoulders. Such help always embarrassed the young scientist, making her feel somewhat impotent but she knew better than to refuse Alison's attentions. Once escorted to the couch, she let herself drop on the cushions while Kira ran to her uncle, her little arms stretched for the warm embrace to come.  
Helena left the floor to sit next to Cosima and rested her head on her sister's shoulder, rubbing her cheek against it as a cat would do to cuddle its owner. A lot of leftover frosting went on Cosima's clothes in the process but she didn't seem to mind.

The gifts had been piled up on the coffee table and you needn't look twice to guess from whom they were. Alison's was neat and perfect, the exact quantity of wrapping paper for the volume of the box, as though she had measured it (which she probably had) ; Helena's lack of wrapping skills had left parts of her gift exposed, sometimes patched with loud colored papers and Cosima's had a myriad of doodles on it, drawn by herself and Kira with bright marker pens. 

"Where's mummy?" Kira asked, slightly worried. The absence of her mother – she had learnt over time – was rarely a good sign. 

"Buys a new cake, little angel. Ate the first one." Helena answered, pointing at the half-eaten mess on the rug. 

"Yeah thanks about that, meathead. Now my floor's going to smell like vanilla for a month," cursed Felix as he knelt to clean it all up. Nonchalantly, he opened a large trash bag and tossed the whole thing in there. Loud hisses and protests issued from Helena and Alison. 

"I was going to eat this!" shrilled the first one. 

"I made that!" moaned the second. 

He pointed an accusing finger at Helena : "You, how haven't you contracted diabetes yet?! And you," shifting towards Alison, "don't lie to me and say you would have eaten something that KGB's fingers have fiddle with." 

The argument was cut short by the metallic sound of the door sliding once more. All turned their heads to see Sarah coming in, her hands busy carrying a cupcake tray and a large wrapped gift. Naturally, Alison jumped from her sit to relieve her sister from her burden, taking the cupcakes to safety on the kitchen counter. Helena stared at the baked goods with a tinkle in her eyes, ready to repeat her mischief but Felix's disapproving look was enough to nip her idea in the bud. 

"Mummy!" 

"Monkey!" 

Mother and daughter hugged tightly, Sarah lifting her little girl in her arms, making her fly gently. She had been staying with Cosima for the week-end and 48 hours had been more than enough separation for the both of them. 

"Auntie Cosima showed me how stars work, mummy! I can see conteslations!" 

"Constellations," Cosima corrected gently from the couch.   
The Manning family went to sit with the others, Sarah still carrying Kira in her arms. The pile of gifts welcomed the newcomer, towering a bit more. Felix started pouring champagne (more of less stolen from tables at a night club, but nobody needed to know that) in everyone's glass, purposefully avoiding Alison's and, of course, Kira's. The child hovered her nose over Sarah's glass and grimaced at the smell. 

"Grown-up drinks are disgusting," she stated, holding her nose. 

Alison ruffled the girl's hair, used to this kind of reflections from her own children. And God knew they had smelled the potent fragrance of alcohol before, if only on her clothes. The bubbles of champagne were singing from everybody's glass next to her, inviting her to have a sip or two. A siren's song to a sailor, dulling his senses as he is plunged into the abyss. Another glass suddenly appeared in front of her and she had a little jolt, brought back to Earth. 

"Papaya and passion fruit jus with extra vitamin C, Vitamin E and whatever magic component is on the bottle," Felix announced as he was pouring Kira a drink. 

The former alcoholic nodded, taking a long sip to muffle the champagne's melody. Kira raised her glass towards Alison's and lightly knocked them.   
The conversation went on, covering subjects as varied as the opening of a new trendy bar, the last episode of American Horror Story or Alison's new jive class. DYAD and Rachel were carefully put aside, as well as Cosima's illness to promote a drama-free sorority moment. Who would want to talk about that with a flute of stale champagne in hand? 

"Ok, let's open the presents, shall we?" Sarah suggested after a while, once everybody's glass was empty.

"So... How do we do this? Each gives the present to the other?" 

"Fine with me." 

Since Sarah's was on top of the pile, she was the first one to go. Lifting the wrapped box, she handed it to Alison. Surprised, the latter raised her brows and took the present somewhat tentatively. Being the first clone to receive a present had never crossed her mind. She unfolded the corners of the wrapping paper, more than aware of all the curious eyes fixed on her as the was trying to keep it intact. A waterfall of DVDs tumbled on her lap as the paper loosen and Alison squealed with excitement. 

"Les Misérables, Chicago, Wicked... Oh Sarah!" 

Alison pounced on her sister to hug her. She had enough musical DVDs with extra behind the scenes to stay indoors for a week! Once she had finished to squeeze her sister's ribcage, the Broadway enthusiast sat back on her spot, admiring all the covers and smiling ear to ear.   
Cosima cleared her throat and supported herself on the edge of the couch to get up. She took the box riddled with smiley faces and presented it to Helena who, of course, made short work of it. The paper fell into pieces on the rug (Felix rolled his eyes) and she was met with a palette of colors. Intrigued, she stroke one of the colored square, the red one, and applied to her cheeks. 

"Is it makeup?" she asked, tracing Indian war paint on her face. 

The apartment was filled with laughter. 

"It's chalk hair dye. To customize your hair with a lot of different colors so they can be as cool as mine!" 

Helena's eyes brightened. Slowly, she took a bit more chalk dust and applied it onto Cosima's face in a similar fashion. 

"I want rainbow hair." 

"As soon as we're finished!" the scientist approved. 

As Helena and Kira were busy inspecting each color on the palette, Alison had taken her gift from the pile and handed it to Cosima. 

"It's... fragile," Alison added, just to be sure. 

Cosima nodded and rested it carefully onto her lap. She gently stripped the wrapping paper, making less of the mess than Helena. The box was white and had several beakers on it, similar to the ones she was using in her lab. At first, she thought Alison had got her a kid's chemistry kit but then noticed the box read : 

"Science Beaker Terrarium Set." 

"Yeah it's a decoration plants," Alison explained, hastily. "It's plants that grow inside beaker and you can take care of it and it's nice and... I don't know if you like it, I mean I can always take it back to the shop, I still have the receipt, it's no big d..." 

"It's perfect, Alison," Cosima gleamed. "I love it! It's uber dubber cool!" 

She rested her hand on her sister and squeeze it lightly to reassure her.   
The last in line abandoned her color palette for a second to give the last gift of the night. Big colored digits stained the scarce paper as Helena delivered it to her twin. A large smile on her lips, Sarah didn't even need to tear the wrapping paper to uncover it. An empty photo frame and a disposable camera were soon to be produced from the flat box. 

"It's for family portrait," Helena explained. "Because that is what we are. Family."


End file.
